Music List Thread (Post New Themes Here)

New Microbe Theme after a long hiatus:

Oliveriver wrote:

New Microbe Theme after a long hiatus:

It's good. I like it.

Although I can't help but wonder what it would sound like with a more elaborate melody...



By the way, here's a new version of my beach theme:

Beach Theme - Version 2


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDHudvI2myU

I made it longer, and added some more melodies.

I really like it! You might just want to lower the volume of some of the strings, as in a game situation they may feel a little overpowering, but apart from that, perfect! :D 

And my Microbe Theme could work with a more elaborate melody, but that would mean sacrificing its graceful, flowing nature, something that's needed for earlier stages. Most of the instruments have also passed through various sound modulators as well (to give them the dampened, underwater-y sound), and I feel the two might clash.

Oliveriver wrote:

I really like it! You might just want to lower the volume of some of the strings, as in a game situation they may feel a little overpowering, but apart from that, perfect! :D

Thanks!

Hmm... Ok, how's this version?


Beach Theme - Version 3



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1EAlPCO-PM

The strings have been toned down.

Quote :

And my Microbe Theme could work with a more elaborate melody, but that would mean sacrificing its graceful, flowing nature, something that's needed for earlier stages. Most of the instruments have also passed through various sound modulators as well (to give them the dampened, underwater-y sound), and I feel the two might clash.

Ah I see... Fair enough.

Awesome! That pad sound you used is an exact fit for what the music of Thrive needs to be.

Also, sorry again for the long musical absence (this seems to be becoming a running theme), but here's a new Microbe Loading Screen Theme, this time a little darker:

An extremely short one here, this is the Opening Cutscene Theme to match with Cheese's animation (which at the moment features an old, unlicensed theme):

I would suggest that we experiment with some other ideas for "Revolutionary Games" intros for the future, but for now I'm glad we have this to be able to stick on to the current build (Although I thought we were going to do an animated scene for RG?).

Ok, I guess I'll do some more then.

NickTheNick wrote:

animated scene for RG?

Okay, I'm gonna do that to.

I actually really like the idea of winding through strands of DNA and it will definitely serve very well at first. But at some point we will obviously want to consider it further, probably in another thread.

(I'm still hoping for narration by David Attenborough at a much later stage. No one is ever going to convince me otherwise  :D ).

Oliveriver wrote:

An extremely short one here, this is the Opening Cutscene Theme to match with Cheese's animation (which at the moment features an old, unlicensed theme):

I like it good job Oliver :) 

Today I made a new ambient song that concern the first phase.I decided to follow a simple music, but it is very ambient.

I hope u like it  :D 

The chord sequence is good, but I definitely get the feeling that it needs more beyond the opening, as otherwise it's just the same instrument over and over.

Since the microbe stage soundtrack is done as far as I'm concerned, I've started moving on to multicellular music:

That sounded very good! I could envision my organism exploring the early aquatic environment with this music in the background.

Also, I was thinking that the BBC series Walking With Dinosaurs, as well as its prequel and sequel series Walking With Monsters and Walking With Beasts all have very good musical scores, perfectly adapted for organisms in nature, from which we could draw inspiration. This playlist has some examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUBIUk_D-qY&list=PLAC2F3080A617F5CD

Oliveriver wrote:

Since the microbe stage soundtrack is done as far as I'm concerned, I've started moving on to multicellular music:

I like it. It's a very soothing, calm theme that brings to mind a shallow ocean teeming with life.

I must admit, I'm not really much of a fan of the kind of "ringing" sound that starts at about 1 minute in. In my opinion, the ringing just needs to be a tiiiny bit quieter, and then it'll be perfect.

NickTheNick wrote:

Also, I was thinking that the BBC series Walking With Dinosaurs, as well as its prequel and sequel series Walking With Monsters and Walking With Beasts all have very good musical scores, perfectly adapted for organisms in nature, from which we could draw inspiration. This playlist has some examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUBIUk_D-qY&list=PLAC2F3080A617F5CD

Yes. This.

The soundtrack of the Walking With trilogy is a great place from which to draw inspiration, in my opinion. The Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis soundtrack is also great for that.

On a related note, do you reckon we'll need any themes for natural disasters? Earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires, eruptions, asteroid impacts, and so on?

Yes we'll definitely need some more intense music for natural disasters during the organism stage. They'll provide a large source of excitement outside of hunting and being hunted by other organisms.

EDIT: Also, I've never heard of Operation Genesis, so I'll check that out.

Totemaster wrote:

I must admit, I'm not really much of a fan of the kind of "ringing" sound that starts at about 1 minute in. In my opinion, the ringing just needs to be a tiiiny bit quieter, and then it'll be perfect.  :) 

It's actually an echoing vocoder through which the rest of the theme has been fed before being added back in behind the original - it gives it a slightly eerier feel, along with greater complexity to balance out the simplicity of the instruments themselves. I still really like it, although I can see why you don't. I'm thinking of making it longer in a later version anyway, so maybe I'll make the vocoder quieter as well.

NickTheNick wrote:

Also, I was thinking that the BBC series Walking With Dinosaurs, as well as its prequel and sequel series Walking With Monsters and Walking With Beasts all have very good musical scores, perfectly adapted for organisms in nature, from which we could draw inspiration.

I actually watched an episode of Walking With Monsters the other day (the Permian desert string trill motif being the overriding musical aspect). Nature documentaries (whether present or prehistoric) are definitely a good source of inspiration for music, sound and even the general feel of the multicellular and aware stages.

For other ambient music inspiration, you can never go wrong with Brain Eno, who did after all create Spore's soundtrack. Other video game music is always a good place to start too.

Hey there!
Olivers last theme for the multicelluar stage finally encouraged me to play around with Audiosauna more than a few minutes. Well, here's the outcome. It's a very simple, generic multicelluar/aware theme only about 2 minutes long. What could I improve? Does it fit the general composing style? Should I make it longer or should I add a more dominant melody? All criticism is welcome:)

MirrorMonkey2 wrote:

Hey there!
Olivers last theme for the multicelluar stage finally encouraged me to play around with Audiosauna more than a few minutes. Well, here's the outcome. It's a very simple, generic multicelluar/aware theme only about 2 minutes long. What could I improve? Does it fit the general composing style? Should I make it longer or should I add a more dominant melody? All criticism is welcome:)

Interesting. it sounds sort of like a strange mix of the music from Shadow of the Colossus, Alien, and classic Doctor Who... in a good way.

In what sort of situation/environment/circumstances is it meant to play?


It's maybe a tiny bit short and simplistic at the moment though. Most ambient Thrive themes should ideally range in length from just under 5 minutes, to just over 10 minutes.

However, I like the way it kind of builds up with that second layer (or melody) of music. Therefore, I feel you should continue this trend, and add more layers in a longer version.

As for the style, I don't think you need to worry too much. Thrive's soundtrack is very diverse.

I completely agree with Totemaster, but there are some other things I'd change:

1. The synth pad you used is, I'm guessing, just one of the basic pads in the instrument list with no added modulation or inserts. If you can, play around with the instrument editor (assuming Audiosauna has one) and add a little more richness and depth to it. I think a longer release, slower attack and a slight echo would work.

2. What notes did you mainly use? Some of them seemed quite dissonant and didn't really fit the feel of the theme. The note lengths all felt too simple as well, with only two lengths used.

3. I feel like there should be a drone playing constantly, either from the start or added gradually. In musical terms, a drone is a single note or set of notes that are held down for the entirety of the piece - in this instance, the same note that the lower pad plays first might work, though obviously on a different instrument, preferably a complex pad with varying layers (if there is one in Audiosauna).

However, this is excellent for a first attempt, so don't feel like our criticism is anything other than constructive.

First of all, thanks for the positive feedback and the constructive criticism!

Totemaster wrote:

In what sort of situation/environment/circumstances is it meant to play?

I think it could work in a variety of scenarios. For example in a moist, shady swamp or a lonley shore. I could also see it working if your organism flies high above the ground. Maybe also in a shallow, dirty pond?

Totemaster wrote:

It's maybe a tiny bit short and simplistic at the moment though. Most ambient Thrive themes should ideally range in length from just under 5 minutes, to just over 10 minutes.

I've continued working on it, here's a second version. It's about five minutes long and has more different instruments. At the end I tried to make something a little bit shocking and unexpected. Is it too much?

Oliveriver wrote:

The synth pad you used is, I'm guessing, just one of the basic pads in the instrument list with no added modulation or inserts. If you can, play around with the instrument editor (assuming Audiosauna has one) and add a little more richness and depth to it. I think a longer release, slower attack and a slight echo would work.

I'm sorry that I've read your post too late to take your advice to heart. But You're right with the synth pad. I'll make a third version soon so I can improve it further.

Oliveriver wrote:

What notes did you mainly use? Some of them seemed quite dissonant and didn't really fit the feel of the theme. The note lengths all felt too simple as well, with only two lengths used.

I'm not sure wich notes sound dissonant but I'll do my best to find them. The lengths have more variety after the 2 minutes mark. Not too much, but a little bit better I think.

Oliveriver wrote:

I feel like there should be a drone playing constantly, either from the start or added gradually.

I've already thought about something similar but then I decided to leave that out for now. I'll definitley add this in version 3.

EDIT: I've finished the third version! It's basiclly version 2 but with the canges that Oliver suggested: I've added a drone, modified almost all synths and changed a few dissonant notes. Is the drone too loud? Any other suggestions or points of criticism? You can also PM me so the thread doesn't get spammed.

MirrorMonkey2 wrote:

First of all, thanks for the positive feedback and the constructive criticism!

Totemaster wrote:

In what sort of situation/environment/circumstances is it meant to play?

I think it could work in a variety of scenarios. For example in a moist, shady swamp or a lonley shore. I could also see it working if your organism flies high above the ground. Maybe also in a shallow, dirty pond?

Totemaster wrote:

It's maybe a tiny bit short and simplistic at the moment though. Most ambient Thrive themes should ideally range in length from just under 5 minutes, to just over 10 minutes.

I've continued working on it, here's a second version. It's about five minutes long and has more different instruments. At the end I tried to make something a little bit shocking and unexpected. Is it too much?

Oliveriver wrote:

The synth pad you used is, I'm guessing, just one of the basic pads in the instrument list with no added modulation or inserts. If you can, play around with the instrument editor (assuming Audiosauna has one) and add a little more richness and depth to it. I think a longer release, slower attack and a slight echo would work.

I'm sorry that I've read your post too late to take your advice to heart. But You're right with the synth pad. I'll make a third version soon so I can improve it further.

Oliveriver wrote:

What notes did you mainly use? Some of them seemed quite dissonant and didn't really fit the feel of the theme. The note lengths all felt too simple as well, with only two lengths used.

I'm not sure wich notes sound dissonant but I'll do my best to find them. The lengths have more variety after the 2 minutes mark. Not too much, but a little bit better I think.

Oliveriver wrote:

I feel like there should be a drone playing constantly, either from the start or added gradually.

I've already thought about something similar but then I decided to leave that out for now. I'll definitley add this in version 3.

EDIT: I've finished the third version! It's basiclly version 2 but with the canges that Oliver suggested: I've added a drone, modified almost all synths and changed a few dissonant notes. Is the drone too loud? Any other suggestions or points of criticism? You can also PM me so the thread doesn't get spammed.

I like both of these! :DEspecially version 3. As I said, it has a very "classic Doctor Who" feel to it, which is a good thing. :PIt also sounds very alien.

Good job. And no, the drone doesn't sound too loud. To me, it seems to be just the right volume.

Well that's my verdict. You'll have to see what the others think.


Now then... time to post a brand new theme.

This one is dedicated to a dear friend of mine, named Kim. Kim recently went through severe trauma, so for what it's worth, I've decided to dedicate this track to her.

This is meant to be a short-ish theme that plays when a spacecraft belonging to the player's species reaches a new, alien solar system for the first time.

Key Interstellar Mission - (Reaching an alien solar system - A Space Stage event) - Version 1




Let me know what you guys (and gals) think.

With the little free time I've had recently (luckily I'm now past most of it), I've managed to rearrange the Main Theme using far better instrument samples. I've also split it into two versions, the first of which, the shortened version, has now been uploaded:



I've also given it a name - 'Vireo', or Thrive in Latin. At least, that's what Google Translate told me. Input from anyone who actually knows Latin would be appreciated.

The latin word 'vigeo' is closer to the meaning you want.

It means: "thrive, flourish, be strong, be vigorous, be active, be effective"

Isn't that what evolution is about? Survival/Thriving/Flourishing of the strong/effective(Fittest)?


However, 'vireo' is similar, but it is used for "be green, be verdant, be fresh, be vigorous, thrive". This is why I think 'vigeo' is a more accurate word to use.

Also, loved the new theme. Amazing work there. :cheers: 

Here's the longer version, which includes all of the shorter version and far more, but generally has a different mood, which is why I feel they work as separate tracks. I'm especially proud of the background strings here - I still shiver at the memory of that cello with the ridiculous default tremolo and the pounce attack synth strings in chorus of the v7. Ugh.

And Doctor, I took your advice - this one sounds a lot more like it would be verdant, green and fresh, whereas the short version is strong, vigorous and active. I've therefore named this one Vireo, and the first is now Vigeo instead.